Alright, I need a break from the hatred on social media. Let’s talk about life.

In a few minutes, I’m going to the local turkey farm to go pick up a bird. I need to get it into a brine pronto. Then I’ll roast the pumpkin for Steve; he’ll make the pies on Wednesday.

We’re binge watching Outlanders in the evenings.

Despite a large purchase of running clothes for cold weather, I’m slacking on the running and might skip Thursday’s Turkey Trot. I’m not doing well with this cold snap.

We started a new savings account to squirrel away money for a new kitchen. Maybe in a year, we’ll tackle that project, along with a major upgrade of the home – new windows, new insulation, new siding. A lot depends on Jonah’s college costs, which remain a big unknown.

Jonah is having a fine fall. His physics teacher wants him to become a bio engineer, and his English teacher wants him to become a writer. Yeah, you know which option we’re rooting for.

His cross country team came in 6th in the state last Saturday. He is among the 60 fastest kids in New Jersey. They will compete in the Northeast race this Saturday.

And we’re making progress on the college applications. He is applying regular admission to about twelve state colleges. His SAT scores were very good, making up for a typical teenage boy’s “meh” performance in Freshman and Sophomore year. He’ll take them one more time in December, just to see if we can milk a little more merit aid from the schools.

Ian moved to a neighboring public school this fall and is doing so, so well. After last spring’s horrific, 100-hour search for a new school for him, we’re taking a vacation from worrying about him. He’s happy and that’s that.